Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

Gabriel was beside me in one second. “Are you alright?” I could feel his blue eyes staring down at me expectantly, even though I was gazing out of the open window. “Kass.” He set a hand on my back.

  But it felt too much like John’s hand that had been there only a few seconds ago, so I shook it off.

  “Kass,” his voice was so quiet that I barely heard it. “How is John still alive? I saw you…”

  I swallowed, remembering that instant all too well. “I don’t know,” I whispered, shocked. Turning my back to the wall, I slid down until I was slouched on the floor, staring at my hands.

  Why didn’t I fight him?

  Gabriel moved and sat against the wall, the same position I was in. But he didn’t stay like that for long because he grabbed me and pulled me to him. I thrashed like a fish out of water, not wanting to be close to anyone right now—wanting to wallow in self-hatred—but in the end he was successful in pulling me onto his lap.

  “You can’t deal with this on your own,” Gabriel whispered softly in my ear. “You know that.”

  “No,” I disagreed. “I can. I have to. And stop reading my mind, Gabriel. Stop it. It’s my head.” Closing my eyes and recalling the kiss, I whispered, “He’s one of them.”

  Gabriel wrapped his arms tighter around me. “He’s one of who?”

  I gulped and breathed in sharply. “He’s a Vampire. A Daywalker.” Gabriel just stared at me, not moving and not saying anything for the next few moments. I thought it was because the blonde was finally at a loss for words, but he was simply keeping quiet to carefully phrase what he was about to say.

  Gabriel looked at me square in the face, commenting dryly, trying to make light of the situation, “At least he didn’t steal your first kiss.”

  I narrowed my stare. “What?” He leaned his head back on my wall, not speaking as dimples appeared in his cheeks. “What does that mean?”

  “It means,” Gabriel began, “that three years ago, when you were in a coma, I kind of kissed you, thinking it would bring you back. And it didn’t.”

  I recollected, “You’re such a jerk. All those times you made fun of me about never having kissed someone…you did it?”

  “Of course I did it. I had to be your first kiss, unconscious or not. It’s in the rulebook,” he told me.

  “The rulebook. Right. So I can go to John and tell him it’s all okay now. He can continue murdering the entire town, because he didn’t steal my first kiss, you did!” I pointed an accusatory finger in his face.

  “You see, this is why I never told you. I knew you’d freak. You’re freaking out more about this than about the whole John’s not dead thing. What is your problem?”

  “I thought you’d know by now that I have lots of problems.” I managed to break out of his arm trap and get to my feet. “And I’m not the only one. You have lots of problems too, Gabriel. You—” I rattled off on his terrible qualities. “—hog up the sink in the morning before school, you’re arrogant, you’re egotistical, you’re—”

  Gabriel stood up and grabbed my face, which made me stop instantaneously.

  “If you’re going to try and kiss me, Gabriel,” I stated menacingly, “let me warn you that I will take a buzzer while you’re sleeping and shave off all your beloved hair. Maybe even an eyebrow.”

  “Please don’t do that,” Gabriel said, his face centimeters away from mine. “And just so you know, the next time I kiss you I won’t have to steal it. You’ll give it willingly.”

  “You want to bet on that?”

  Gabriel didn’t let go of my face as he said, “What’s the point of betting if I know I’m right? Plus, I know you don’t have a job, so you have no money to your name.”

  I tried pushing him away, but he kept me in place. “I can’t believe you.”

  We stood there and glared at each other for forever, it felt like. We didn’t move. Gabriel didn’t even take his hands off my face, even when Michael and Raphael appeared in my doorway.

  Raphael said “I told you so” the same exact moment Michael said “You were right.”

  Gabriel let me go and we ran on opposite sides of the room, making it completely obvious something was going on. Just what Michael and Raphael were thinking, I could only imagine.

  “Bloody hell.” Michael rubbed his forehead. “I’m going to have to separate you, even though you two are a fantastic team…move again…”

  Gabriel and I looked at each other from across the room, saying in unity, “What?”

  Michael continued, “I thought it might happen eventually, just not right now. You’re both still so young for God’s sake. You shouldn’t be thinking of doing…adult things until you are much older. After you’re…married.”

  “Adult things?” Gabriel asked. “Married? Surely you aren’t serious.”

  “Isn’t that what a parent is supposed to say?” Michael glanced at Gabriel for confirmation, a very un-parent-like thing to do.

  My mouth dropped open. Michael thought Gabriel and I were…oh, God. I couldn’t even finish that thought. I glanced from him to Gabriel to Raphael. This was a terribly awkward situation, that’s for sure, almost enough to make me forget about John.

  But not quite.

  “Hey.” Gabriel defended himself. “Just so you know.” He looked to me. “Just so you all know, I am a virgin. Me and the sex? Never made it before.”

  “What?” I asked. My mouth was more agape than it was five seconds ago.

  “I’ve occasionally exaggerated about my dates.”

  “Now that we all know Gabriel’s personal life,” Raphael slowly stated, drawing the conversation away from his sexless life, “what was going on up here?”

  Gabriel didn’t break eye contact with Raphael when he replied, “John’s not dead. Kass didn’t kill him. Or maybe she did, and he didn’t stay dead. Nobody knows. But he’s got a thing for her, and I don’t think he’s going to give up until he gets what he wants.”

  The two adults took the information in great stride, better than I had. I still couldn’t believe I froze up like that. What a rookie mistake. A mistake that might have left me dead if Gabriel hadn’t shown up.

  “And what does he want?” Michael asked as he began to clean his glasses for the millionth time today.

  No one answered, so I spoke up. “Me. He’s doing all this for me.”

  I sat on the couch, clutching a pillow like I was ten years old and it was my favorite stuffed animal. Although, I never had a favorite stuffed animal because I never had a normal life. It was always like this. Except when it wasn’t…when I was with my mother. But she left me when I was a little kid, apparently.

  Raphael was talking to Michael, in the corner and so far away that I couldn’t hear a single thing. Not that I really wanted to. Whatever. At this point, I had no idea where my life was going, if I’d live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.

  I felt a presence sit next to me on the couch. I looked at Gabriel, and, not letting go of my pillow, said, “What do you want?”

  “I’m sorry.” Gabriel started petting the pillow that I was hanging on to, and I let him do it. “About what happened upstairs.”

  “Are you?” I watched him nod slowly. This may have been only the second time he’d ever apologized to me. I should write this down somewhere to document it.

  “Very funny.” Gabriel ran a hand through his spikey blonde hair.

  “I thought it was, you know, that’s why I thought it in the first place.” I stopped. I wasn’t good at apologizing either. “I’m sorry, too. I said some things that I should have aimed at John. You just happened to be there, so you got the full brunt of my anger.”

  “Some things?” he repeated and smiled at me.

  I chuckled. “Yes. Some things. You’re going to have to just take that apology, because it’s the best you’re going to get.”

  “Okay.” He held out his arms. “Can we kiss and make up now?”

  “You’re still a jerk,” I said while glaring at him.

  He shrugge
d, stood, said “I know” and walked into the kitchen, probably to check on the meatloaf. It’d last us all night. It had to. We had to research just how in the world we were going to purify John.

  A Daywalker who may or may not be infected with Osiris’s power.

  Chapter Twenty-One – John

  Kass, Gabriel and that other guy sat in the study, each reading some stupid book, probably trying to find a way to get rid of me for good. They wouldn’t, because it was next to impossible, but they didn’t need to know that.

  I wasn’t after any of them yet. It was Michael, who was upstairs, taking a shower, that I wanted. I had some urgent news to get to him. An urgent command I had to tell him, actually.

  But whatever. Not like it would matter for long.

  Soon enough I was going to have her all to myself. Forever.

  As I waited right outside the bathroom door, I rubbed the black tattoo on my neck. I was just getting used to it. I kind of liked it. It suited me. The new me. It gave me power, let me overcome the useless protection spell they put on the house.

  I grinded my teeth together. This dude took a long shower. I’d been skulking in this hallway, right outside this door, for the last twenty minutes. Usually guys didn’t take long showers unless they were occupied and doing a certain something. Me, for instance, I was in and out in less than five minutes, always. Unless I was covered in blood. Like after I finished that little brunette that reminded me of Kass.

  Yeah, that shower took a lot longer than it should have.

  My expert ears heard the shower stop, and soon Michael walked out, wearing nothing but a towel. He began to say something, but I whispered, “Shut up. Don’t speak. Don’t yell. You will not tell anyone about what I’m about to say. Do you understand?”

  Michael’s eyes glazed over as he nodded.

  “Good. Now tomorrow, I want you to send Kass to school, like everything’s alright. I want you to drive her there, give her some false comfort.”

  He nodded once more. God, when I compelled people it was like I spoke to children.

  “Fantastic. Oh, and don’t forget to brutally stab yourself when you get back home, okay?”

  “Okay,” Michael spoke faintly.

  “Good. Now, remember.” I held up my finger. “Don’t tell anyone about this. It’s our little secret.” I smiled and vanished.

  Tomorrow was going to be fun.

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Kass

  “I have a question,” Gabriel said, head lifting from his tome on Vampires. “If Demons are real, then why aren’t aliens? I mean, why haven’t we found them yet?”

  “Maybe they do not want us finding them,” Raphael offered while pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “That’s…dumb.” He sat back down next to me, causing me to jump slightly. Gabriel wrinkled his eyebrows.

  “Sorry, I’m a little jumpy.” I sounded so quiet, but I couldn’t force myself to speak any louder in the study that doubled for a library.

  “That is understandable,” Raphael agreed.

  “He…John was…” I honestly didn’t know what I was trying to say. “Is John Osiris now? I swear he was never like that before.”

  “I never met John before, nor have I seen him recently, so it would be hard for me to say if he is Osiris. He still is incredibly interested in you, so much so that all he’s been doing lately revolves around you. But is he truly Osiris?” Raphael said, “I am not sure.”

  “So, do you think it was too late when I…stabbed him? Did I wait too long to do it? I thought that he was dead, but obviously not.” My mind thought back to his teeth. The sharpness of not only the canines, but also the two front ones. “Was Osiris a Vampire?”

  Raphael glanced at me and answered, “No. He was not.”

  “That’s weird, because John’s a Daywalker.”

  Raphael leaned forward. “That would explain why the sword through his heart didn’t kill him.”

  “What? What do you mean? Why…why wouldn’t that have an effect on him?” I asked, my mind searching for answers.

  Raphael ran a hand through his short hair. “Kassandra, Daywalkers, as you call them, are very different Demons than Nightwalkers. They are not parasites that cannot think or process anything. They are much stronger, much older, and much more powerful. Therefore, they must be purified in a much different way.”

  “What do you mean? What way?” Raphael didn’t answer me, causing me to yell, “Tell me how to purify him!”

  “You can’t.”

  “What do you mean, I can’t? Why not?” I repeated, confused.

  It was a few moments before Raphael finally spoke, “You lack the properties one would need to purify a Daywalker.”

  “What do you mean by properties?” I was getting very angry with this conversation.

  “By properties, I mean that you are not with God’s hand.” With that, Raphael stood up and began walking upstairs, saying, “Let’s get some sleep. I’ll take first watch.”

  But I didn’t move. I sat there and thought, I’m not with God’s hand? I pretty much worked for the guy, so why wasn’t I with his hand? None of this made sense.

  Gabriel held out a hand. “Come on, we need to sleep. Raphael’s right.” I ignored his hand and got up on my own. “Kass, I wouldn’t think too much about it. I’m sure that, between the two of us, one of us is with God’s hand.”

  I rolled my eyes and ran up the stairs. Why couldn’t everything just go back to normal?

  I didn’t dream at all last night. That was weird in itself, but I supposed I could credit it to the fact that John wasn’t dead. I didn’t kill him, like I thought I did. He was breathing, yes, but he wasn’t alive. He was soulless, a Demon, possibly Osiris incarnated.

  Why did this happen to me? Why couldn’t my first crush just stay dead? I saw his eyes cloud over and everything. He was dead. I knew it. That’s what tore me up inside, knowing that I ended the life of the boy I really liked.

  I dressed myself in a black shirt, some darker jeans and my combat boots. Even though, I realized shortly after, I was probably not going to school for the next few days. I wanted to be happy I wasn’t going to school, but I knew it was only because of these awful circumstances.

  “Ready?” Raphael asked from behind a newspaper.

  “Yes. I’m ready. I’m fully dressed. You can look now,” I sighed out, grabbing for my doorknob. Apparently, with John’s attention, I was deemed unfit to ever be alone, especially after Gabriel told Michael and Raphael how stupid I’d been when John was in my room. How I hadn’t fought him.

  I was an idiot.

  “Great. Now let’s head downstairs. I’m starving.” Raphael followed me down.

  We met Michael and Gabriel in the kitchen. The two of them looked like they were fighting, which was weird. They never fought. And by never, I meant never ever.

  “You’re insane!” Gabriel yelled directly at Michael’s face. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Gabriel, watch your tone.” Michael got in his face. “I am the bloody adult in this house, and I say you and Kass will go to school today. That is an order.”

  Gabriel smiled an incredulous smile. “This is such crap, Michael, and you know it.”

  “What is going on here?” Raphael stood between them, separating them like he was the principal stopping a fight between two teenage boys who had starting shoving each other in the hallway.

  “Michael wants us to go to school. Raphael, even you have to agree that’s stupid. We need to stay here and gear up. John will be back, and we need to be ready,” Gabriel elaborated while giving the evilest look he could to Michael.

  “Michael. Why are you sending them to school?” Raphael tilted his head.

  He sipped his tea. “I thought that it would be safer there than here, actually. Since, you know, John broke in more than once. There’s tons of people there, so odds are he won’t try anything when Kass and Gabriel are in school. Just never go anywhere alone.” Michael glanced at me.

 
I was speechless as the fight ended and Gabriel fiercely grabbed his backpack, heading out the door.

  “Gabriel, wait,” Michael yelled after him. Gabriel stopped, holding the front door ajar. “I’ll drive you and pick you up, all right?”

  Gabriel sighed and said, “Alright. Fine. Whatever. But if anything happens to Kass

  today—” His blue eyes stared holes through Michael. “—I’m blaming you. And I will never forgive you. You can count on that.”

  Michael was almost inaudible when he spoke, “Let me get my keys.”

  God. I just had a feeling today was going to be a long day. Just a teeny tiny feeling. I walked out the front door and turned to Raphael, disregarding the two bickering boys who were moving to the car. “I’ll see you later. Good luck being with Michael today,” I joked, even though this wasn’t the time for jokes.

  “Be safe. Don’t go anywhere alone. And please, whatever you do,” Raphael pleaded with me, “don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Stupid? Me?” I heard a car honk impatiently. “I never do anything stupid.” My ears heard five more honks.

  “You better go,” Raphael said while gazing down at me with his intense stare.

  I nodded and waved as I walked to the car. I got in and buckled up, noticing right away that the tension in the car was practically tangible. This was going to be a very long day.

  Great.

  Chapter Twenty-Three – Kirk

  The blood moved in my veins. That was about the only thing in this house that was moving, except for my mind. I sat at the kitchen table, trying to get her out of my head.

  I could feel her. No, more like, I could see her. I could see her go from class to class. I could sense it when she answered a teacher’s question. I knew what she was eating for lunch. I could say every single detail about her day so far, and I knew I’d be right.

  How? I had no idea.

  The only reasonable explanation I had for this was because I licked off the blood from her wounds as I healed them, and she ingested some of mine. Saturday night. Which was over a day ago. I could still feel it in me. I could still feel it empowering me. Her blood was like nothing I’d ever tasted.